Three Panthers Prospects to take part in the USA Hockey Camp

Goaltender Evan Cowley and forwards Ryan Hitchcock and Austin Poganski have been added to the roster that will take part in the USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp next week in Lake Placid, N.Y., USA Hockey announced Tuesday.

They will replace goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic and forwards Adam Erne and Cole Cassels.

The camp will run Aug. 2-9, and serves as one of the first steps for the United States in building the team that will compete at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship in Toronto and Montreal. Rockford IceHogs assistant coach Mark Osiecki will coach the team.

Cowley, a 2013 fourth-round pick (No. 92) of the Florida Panthers, played in five games as a freshman at Denver University last season, going 1-2-0 with a 1.76 goals-against average and .949 save percentage.

Hitchcock had 12 goals and 49 points in 53 games with the United States National Team Development Program under-18 team last season, and had two goals and two assists in seven games for the United States at the 2014 IIHF World Under-18 Championship. He will play at Yale University in the fall, and is eligible for the 2015 NHL Draft.

Poganski, a 2014 fourth-round pick (No. 110) of the St. Louis Blues, had 19 goals and 31 points in 55 games with the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League last season; he is committed to the University of North Dakota for the fall.

Erne, a 2013 second-round pick (No. 33) of the Tampa Bay Lightning, was one of seven players from the U.S. team that finished fifth at the 2014 World Junior Championship that had been scheduled to attend the camp, but he is out after sustaining a wrist injury.

Nedeljkovic, a 2014 second-round pick (No. 37) of the Carolina Hurricanes, is out with a broken thumb. Cassels, a 2013 third-round pick (No. 85) of the Vancouver Canucks, will miss the camp due to illness.